Flexible rotary roll



(No Model.)

A. T. CON-DON & J. 0 HAM.

FLEXIBLE ROTARY ROLL.

No. 596,014. Patented D00. 21, 1897.

UNTTED STATES PATENT @Frrrcn,

ALVIN T. CONDON AND JOHN C. HAM, OF BELFAST, MAINE.

FLEXIBLE ROTARY R0 LL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,014, dated December 21', 1897. Application filed May 3,1897. Serial No. 634,797. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALVIN T. CON DON and JOHN G. HAM, of Belfast, in the county of 'Waldo and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flexible Rotary Rolls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rotary flexible rolls or wheels which are used for exerting rubbing or frictional contact upon various articlessuch as shanks, top lifts, and heel edges of boots and shoes-the surfaces of which have been coated with a blacking composition,the object of the rubbing action being to efficiently spread, distribute, and compact or harden the blacking preparatory to raising a polish by the use of a bristle or other brush. Heretofore the yielding rolls or wheels which have been used to spread and compact the partially-applied coat of blacking have been made of materials which from their nature require a covering of cloth or other protective material, the yielding material of the brush being of such a nature that if allowed to come directly in contact with the surface to be treated it would either develop burning and injurious friction, as in the case of rubber, or would be disintegrated and rapidly worn away, as in the case of felt.

Our invention has for its object to provide a roll or wheel for the purpose aboveindicated which while being sufficiently yielding will also be adapted to bear directly upon the article to be treated without the necessity of an interposed covering, thus prolonging the durability of the wheel and avoiding the delay and expense incidental to the use of a cloth covering, which requires to be frequently removed and renewed.

The invention consists in the improvements which we will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a rubbing roll or wheel embodying our invention. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of one of the groups of flexible leather strips'forming the yielding portion of the roll.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out our invention we provide a suitable hub or holder adapted to be placed upon and secured to a shaft. Said hub is here shown as comprising a sleeve a, which encircles the shaft and is screw-threaded at its ends, annular clamping-rings b 1), formed to surround the sleeve a and havinginwardlyprojecting annular ribs or flanges b", and screw-threaded clamping-collars c, engaged with the screw-threaded end portions of the sleeve and adapted to bear against the outer sides of the clamping-collars b to force said collars into engagement with the flexible strips hereinafter referred to.

The flexible body of the wheel is composed of a series of leather strips, preferably of the character generally used for the uppers of boots and shoes, such as calf-skin, although they may be made of thin sole-leather or split leather. The said strips are radially arranged so that their outer portionsare practically in contact with each other-that is to say, they are not separated by intervening spaces of any material width, which would permit the separation of one strip from another by tangential pressure against the periphery of-the roll, it being our intention to make the periphery of the roll so compact that the outer ends of the radiating strips will collectively form a peripheral rubbing-surface analogous as to continuity with that of a rubber wheel-body, but differing from the latter in that the rubbing-surface is made up of a series of independent sections which are the ends of the radiating leather strips. The flexibility of the strips gives the periphery of the wheel the desired yielding quality, enabling it to act properly upon the surface upon which-the blacking is to be spread and compacted.

WVe prefer to make the yielding body of the wheel from a series of groups of leather strips, each group comprising a longer strip 01 and one or more, preferably two, shorter strips 01 (21, attached near their inner ends to the strip cl by stitches e or other suitable fastenin'gs, the outer ends of the strips being practically flush with each other. The shorter strips 01 are skived or reduced in thickness from their outer ends inwardly, this form enabling the outer portion of the strips to liein close proximity to each other and preventing the formation of crevices between the outer portions of the strips, as would be the case if all the strips were of uniform thickness from their inner to their outer ends. The inner portions of the longer strips d are provided with notches d d formed to engage the ribs or flanges b on the clamping-collars b.

When the leather strips are assembled between the clamping-collars and the latter are adjusted to cause their ribs 19 to enter the notches in the longer strips, the parts of the wheel are securely connected.

We find that aroll or wheel constructed as above described operates successfully in rubbing down and compacting blacking upon the above-mentioned surfaces of boots and shoes, the operation of the wheel being attended with sufficient friction to produce the desired result, but Without burning or injuring the surface being acted upon. The wheel requires no covering of cloth and is therefore much more durable and is more economical to maintain than the rubber and felt rolls heretofore used. There being no cloth covering there is therefore no lint created by the operation of the Wheel.

It is important that the outer ends of the radiating strips be in close proximity to each other, so that they will constitute a practically continuous sectional peripheral surface without presenting openings of sufficient size to receive accumulations of blacking. The

blacking which is encountered by the periphery of the wheel remains upon the periphery and is rubbed thereby into the surface of the boot or shoe instead of being absorbed to any material extent by the wheel itself.

WVe claim 1. A rotary flexible roll or wheel compris- -ing a hub or holder, and a series of flexible leather strips connected with said hub at their inner ends and having flexible outer portions radiating from the hub, their outer ends being substantially in contact with each other and constituting a practically continuous yielding rubbing-surface made up of independently-yielding sections.

2. A rotary flexible roll or wheel composed of a hub or holder, and a series of groups of flexible leather strips connected with said hub at their inner ends and having flexible outer portionsradiating from the hub, each group comprising a longer strip having means at its inner end for engagement with the hub, and a shorter strip attached to the longer strip, the said shorter strips being scarfed or reduced in thickness from their outer ends inwardly, whereby the outer ends of the strips are caused to form a practically continuous yielding surface.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 26th day of April, A. D. 1897.

ALVIN T. OONDON. JOHN G. HAM. Witnesses:

W. J. DORMAN, W. O. DEERING. 

